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Fished the last 1 1/2 hours of the day. Warm, clear , and calm weather. Got 3 on the bama craw dinger, all while reeling slowly on top. Something told me to put on a magnum speed worm ( june bug ) , and I fished it through and around a deep hole with no success. Turned around and threw in between 2 big eel grass beds. After several casts turning from left to right , I got a violent strike , and after a very hard fight, got a 21 inch fish. It was just shy of 4 pounds.On the very next cast , I got a 19.5 inch fish that was 3.5 . Lost 2 more, 1 at the boat that was 2.5 to 3. I will be fishing the magnum SW more often!!

Over the last twenty five years plus I found looking at baits or rigging options and saying to myself, I know exactly where that will flat catch them. The first time I laid my hands on a MB Dark Sleeper it was like an epiphany and I knew exactly when and where it would shine. My assumption was spot on and the what, where and when came together resulting a great day. Same goes for the wobble head and the free rig. They just felt right and didn’t fail me. I have the same feeling about the line through Swimbait Head from 6th Sense. It will have to wait but it speaks to me. Have any of you had a similar reaction to a bait or rig that grabbed your attention and wallet.

Creme Scoundrel started it but that has grown into plastics of various sizes & shapes. Give me a piece of plastic, a 3/0 straight shank hook, a 3/16 oz weight & I will be happy, happy, happy!

My problem is I can't tell the difference between that voice in my head and the Bait Monkey whispering in my ear.

That is hard core. That reminds me of two guys who were in my bass club. Twins. Between the two, they would drink 4 pots of coffee per day, minimum. They would fish tournaments together, and bring a camp stove on the boat to brew coffee throughout the day. They had wicked dropshot presentations!

Ike simply can't compete anymore, and I'd love to see him forced out. Imho he's terrible for the sport anyways. Terrible attitude, and terrible random childish acts. Easton will no doubt be a huge player, and he'll likely win a blue trophy next year. He knows how to close out wins. Some anglers can fish a whole lifetime without learning how to close, G-Man comes to mind. He fished for college right now the road from me. I hope Jon Cox wins every event including the Classic....if that happens the sport will never have been better 😎

Wedding ring. Yup. In front of my wife. I had just reeled in my jig that was covered in algae. I pulled it off the jig and tried to let go of the algae so it would fall back into the water. It stuck to my fingers. So I shook my hand vigorously to free the clingy slime. It let go of its grip...while pulling my ring right off my finger! PLOP! Wife, "What was that?" Me, "Uh...I'm not sure." (looks at hand) "Oh no! It was my ring!" Wife, "Can you see it?" Me, "Nope. It's gone." Wife:

Isn't it great being a 10 YO in a grown man's body!

OK genius. Now how about putting a bass in the avatar pic ? What the heck . . . . . A-Jay

I was pretty boring this year. Started like I usually do, catching them on cranks and Ned rigs (which I never seemed to put down all year). The staples like the 6th Sense Flat 75 and Frittside were productive as always, but I added a couple new confidence baits in the Spro Speed Demon and Berkley Money Badger. March was my first experience with the Rapala Freeloader, and it did enough to have me 1/4" short of walking across the Bassmaster Classic stage. Ned kept producing through spring, getting a win in the first tournament of the year, qualifying me for the championship at the end of the year. This time it was my weedless Ned next to laydowns that produced a flurry in the last 2 hours of the day to cull all 5 of my fish, going from the high 60" range, to the high 80's. Summer was really good for the bladed jigs. My Ivy (chartreuse and white with blood spots), was a steady producer early, including what was my biggest fish of the year for a majority of the year. Then Code Blue was hot when the weather was hot, including a couple weeknight tournament wins. I feel like I've caught so many fish on a Ned rig since late summer until now. My kids absolutely crushed the smallmouth all summer on them, so did my wife. Then our championship, I closed out the season the same way I started, winning with a Ned rig. It was a 2 day tournament, and 9 of my 10 fish were on a Ned rig, either White Lightning or Hot Snakes color. I had a few good days on a homemade jig, caught some really nice fish on it. Lately, a jerkbait has been really good, either a 6th Sense Provoke, or Stunna 112. Then of course, Ned has remained steady and produced my biggest fish of the year in a heavy snow a few weeks ago.

You probably have a few in your freezer i would geuss.

We all know that there are no “rules” in bass fishing as everything is constantly changing but there are a few trends I have learned and to “live” by after fishing a full season with Live Sonar. This is just me talking and your experiences are different but for the sake of a good convo… 1. Bass are always near bait - either following schools, near cover to ambush bait, or on the bottom near bait…If there are no bait in an area it’s a pretty unproductive area.. find an area with a lot of bait there will generally always be bass close by 2. Bass seek shade in hot conditions BUT where there is bait nearby be it fry near docks, bluegills near weeds, bait near lay-downs etc.. 3. Depth really is only relevant when there is bait present.. If the bait is shallow there will be bass shallow and if the bait is out deep there will be bass deep too near by… This answers the whole shall i fish deep or shallow today delimma.. I think you guys and gals can see my point… I idle around looking at clearvu and side scan to find bait and cover/structure.. Once I find that I locate bass on Livescope.. after that I try to catch them.. that’s the hard part.. When they all three line up though it’s a thing of beauty…

It got here. You're generosity is 1000x too much. Thanks very much and MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your family.

And SUCH a Great Bass Pic Too ! Love The Smile. See you really are a man of genius. I knew it. A-Jay

Since oiling the spool bearings is something I'd consider normal maintenance, I wouldn't go through the trouble of returning it. Pretty good instructions given above. I'd do that about every quarter I was using the reel, and before I put it up for the winter.

I downsized about 3 years ago but now I am back to the original number of rods, they just cost a lot more. You have received good feedback on rods, so I’ll not add more. However, I think there are better options for moving baits than NRX rods. I use NRX for bottom contact only as I feel like that is where they shine. For moving baits, I would look at something like an Alpha Angler Rebound or ChatterBound. I know you asked for NRX only but I have a problem following directions.

This is me in coffee shops. Just give me good ol black coffee.

I’m a little short, a little round, and a little out of shape. For those reasons, I’m out. 😂

Somewhat related, but a guy on my home lake had a really nice folding dock umbrella somehow get blown off during a storm. I showed him it on 2D sonar, but we couldn't recover it without hooking the fabric or something with a big treble hook. It was standing vertically in about 18ft, and the top of it was about 10ft deep. I think his main concern was his kids jumping off the dock and swimming. I'm out there fishing yesterday and lo and behold I see a freaking scuba diver out there in 52d water. Apparently, the guy called a local Dive school/shop and found a guy who does recoveries for an hourly rate. Just something to keep in mind if you lose something, many communities have a diving school/shop in the area. I suspect these guys are more than happy to put their skills to use. Scott Martin lost a drone during an Elite Series practice, and they found a local diver to recover it for them. Imagine how much more effective of an angler you'd be if you were able to scuba dive all your favorite spots and see how the fish are setting up on them.

I can’t think of a single expensive thing I’ve lost overboard. I’ve kicked a few rods out of the boat but I’ve always managed to fish them out of the water. I kicked one out at night in 15 feet of water. I had a marker buoy at my feet that I tossed out immediately. I tied on a treble hook and hooked the rod on the first try. On more occasions than I really like to admit, I’ve cut my main line instead of the tag and tossed the untethered lure into the water never to be seen again.😮

I don’t know if they make those fur hats in my size 😅 I fished a small tournament last Saturday, last one of the year. It was a weird bite for me. I struggled to get bit on a jerkbait like I planned on and my Ned rig fish were tiny. Water temps were 40-42, so I switched from a suspending jerkbait to a slow sinker (Stunna), in almost the same color. Almost immediately caught a 15” fish, which was by far my biggest fish. I made a long run to one of my best areas and caught another cull fish that was 14.75”. I was still expecting more fish but there was another rounded point on this cove and I knew there was a tree that usually holds fish. I pulled my bait across the point and my line jumped on the pause. The fish was surprisingly thin for this time of year but a huge help, culling an 11” fish with an 18.25. My next cast. Another big fish loaded on over the tree. She drug in slowly with heavy head shakes. I saw a big fish with my bait crossways in its mouth, then it shook and my rod relaxed 😭 It was an easy 20” fish. Next cast, another heavy one loaded on, and just as fast, it was gone. I culled one more 15” fish and a 13”. It wasn’t much, but it was enough.

I don't think I ever shared this here but there is a reel that was designed for hard rock fish that makes for a pretty good bass fishing frog reel. It has the power handle and knobs from the Tatula Flip and Pitch along with a distance tuned Magforce Z spool and a high speed level wind to prevent braid dig in. It also has an aluminum handle side plate like the Tatula Elites. You could almost think of it as a Tatula Elite PE special. They're $200 shipped which puts them in JDM Zillion territory but maybe you might find it worthwhile as a braid reel. https://www.daiwa.com/jp/product/v89jbs2

Whopper Plopper sucked me in big time. And it sucked me in for 3, not just one. Because there was a buy 2, get one free. Chris Lane on Toledo Bend with the win was the primary marketing ploy. They are nothing but glorified Christmas tree ornaments. But at least now I've learned my lesson. Never buy more than one of a lure. That way, if its a failure, you're only stuck with one. Not three.

I am about 25 / 75 at this point. And the 75 is the crash & burn percentage. #glidebaits But the few times I do get it right, especially recently, it's been pretty Epic. So I tell myself "it's worth trying" I have learned that I am willing to give whatever it is at at least a couple of seasons before I bail on it completely. A few times I've had success with deals in places and in a manner not original thought of. I hate the term "think outside the box" but it certainly applies in those few cases. Winners include the A-Rig, vibrating jigs and a few jerkbaits. Either way, despite selling some of it off, I still have a decent level of deals labeled "Pending" which could mean anything is possible. A-Jay

What have I lost over the side? Yes.

"Lunkergate" LOLOLOL. I though he was sponsored by 6th sense? They must love this ratchet stuff.

This past year I lost a pair of Costa Del Mar sunglasses. I was running at plane and turned around to look at something and they flew off my head. Feels like I've done that before without losing glasses. Didn't have a life jacket secured this past spring and it flew out. It was a nice NRS Chinook life jacket. Several years ago I lost a nice spinning combo on a reef in Green Bay. A buddy hooked a good fish. I grabbed the net and layed down my rod without reeling it in. We had spot-lock on so maybe a fish pulled it out but it was gone once I netted the fish and went back to pick up my rod. That's it in about 35 years of fishing from a boat. Edit- After going back and reading this thread, I remembered that I too lost a wedding ring. It was always a little loose and I caught a fish and was wiping off my hands together and I flicked my ring right off into about 14' of water in Mill Creek Lake (IL). Like others have said, it was pretty cheap to replace. Now there's another wedding ring I launched into Lake Michigan but that was intentional and felt fantastic!

My nephew 😉 While night fishing I heard a commotion followed by a loud splash. I turn to look towards the back deck, all I could see was a butt & two legs sticking up in the air. Don't remember what he was doing but he was behind the console leaning over the side. The gunnel was wet from dew, his hand slipped causing him to go over. Grabbing the gunnel with both hands now he pulled himself up only to slip again. I never laughed so hard in my life & it got even funnier Monday when he got home. He was a Flight Engineer on AWACS plane & the doctor grounded him for a cracked rib.

So I do not know how you go about filling out the form. My guess is you already have the fish in your possession which would already be illegal for him. He than thought oh **** I’m already in to deep I’ll just go get a license after. Maybe he had an auto renew for his license and something didn’t process? a lot of times the cover up is worse than the crime. Like people who think they have warrants give a false name. Than they find out they didn’t have a warrant but, are going to jail because they lied to an officer. of course he will turn this into YouTube videos that’s his job. He’s d**n good at it obviously. On a personal note I like that he is an outlaw and not bought and paid for by the fishing companies. I don’t agree with everything he does. He is however living on his terms. Isn’t that what we all would like to do?

Haven't tried out yo-zuri braid personally but sounds like it might be ok from the posts above me...I switched from powerpro to sufix832 a while ago and haven't looked back since...they also make a high viz yellow and high viz lime green which was nice of them since it helps me remember which one is 10lb and which one is 15lb test...also use their 50lb for frogs / flipping and 30lb for topwater and have been happy with it and suspect you might be fine, but if you end up not liking it sufix is what I've been using and would recommend.

I spent the year with a jig head minnow tied on a rod at all times. Top contenders were 4" and 6.5" raid fish roller, but my top fish and big fish producer, was a 4.25" rapala freeloader. I never would've thought the hype was justified this time last year, but I'm sure glad I put the time into it. Even without electronics, it proved to be an all time fish catcher from post spawn till ice and from the top to the bottom of the water column. scott

This has been an on going question for the past 10+ years and to put it bluntly the conclusion has been that core buyers of the E series (and other USDM Shimanos with more abundant direct JDM equivalents of the same era) are simply unaware, even today, that the JDM reels even exist and this is reflected in the prices. There is just a never ending supply of guys completely unaware of cheap JDM Shimanos and willing to pay absurd amounts of money for the USDM version branded as Curado Es, Cores and Calais DC.

I have lost a number of hats, a pair or two of sun glasses, enough pliers , and multitools to start a hardware store, and enough tackle to cry over. So far I have never lost a camera or cell phone so I guess I am doing OK.

Reminds me of winter camping. We had a perk-pot that you'd set in the fire to make coffee. One time we filled it a little too much so the grounds were sitting in the water. By the time it started perking, the coffee was done, and we let it perk for another 1/2 hour. That coffee was strong enough to knock over a bull elephant, but it was hot and we were cold.....

I've been stung on my ballbag..on 2 different occasions

Everyone pulling rods up with treble hooks is inspiring me.. how many times will I lose a lure if I drag a lipless trying to get the rod? I think the bottom in that area is generally clean but a lipless will definitely let me know... Maybe I'll go to Walmart and see if they have some cheap heavy Ozark ones to try with

It’s good work if you can get it

I have had the K, and own the DC, 200M and 150mgl. I regret selling my K reels as I really liked them. I feel like Shimano reels have always palmed well, the best to me. The 200 M is as awesome as the K was, but it is a touch wider. To me it’s a non issue. The 200M hold plant of 50 lb braid for frogging or bomb casting big baits, however it will throw lighter lures well too, a bit better than the K did and less fussy to get dialed in, but maybe a bit harder to tune than the 150, hard to say on that really . The 150 is a sweet reel, and may be my all time favorite. It’s on the same level as the 200K and 200M in terms of ruggedness and smoothness. It’s a small framed reel that palms really well, sits lower on the reel seat. The only reel I have used that palms better is the SLX. It casts with very little effort and is super simple to dial in. The 150 mgl and 200M are almost interchangeable. If you need a deep crank,flip/punch, frog, a rig reel, the 200M is made for it. If you need an all purpose workhorse that can do most things really well, the 150 is it.

Sign me up!

Reposting in the correct thread this time: I will chunk my two cents in the pot. My winter bass fishing rule of thumb. Back in the day when I fished a lot. I fished 45 days straight in the winter (Dec, Jan, and Feb. here) and I came up with a pattern that works for me in Texas. The cold front blows through. The first two days after the front don't even bother, It's cold and windy. They ain't biting. The third day they start biting again and it bite continues improving until the next front rolls in. This was fishing the same water each time. I had a little gravel ramp where I'd launch my 12' Sears Ted Williams semi-vee with a trolling motor on the bow and a dead 9.9 Wizard motor on the back to keep it (from wind vane-ing) tracking. I would launch the boat and put the troller on two and tossed a spinner bait next to every piece of cover, through every lily pad opening and under and along the docks. Anything that might look like it would hold a fish, I'd hit it while going down the bank. Fish one side and then I'd cross over and come back down the opposite bank. My weapon of choice was a 6'6" Shimano Bullwhip with a Shimano Bantam Mag 4:1 reel with 14# Berkley XL 14#. Lure of choice was either a Chartruese or White Strike King double bladed spinner bait tied on. Short accurate casts, I'm a lefty and throw righty. I can start that spinner bait's blades turning just as it hits the water. I swear that some of those bass would see it coming and hit the instant the bait hit the water. I still think my theory would hold true today. Cold front blows through, blue bird skies, high pressure moves in, cold temps, cold winds out of the north and by day three the wind starts to lay or starts coming out of the south again and they are eating again. FM

Went back to Table Rock this morning and took my neighbor. It was 31° and the wind was beginning. We fished the same general area as I did on Tuesday. Fishing was somewhat better. We caught 23 spotted bass 5 of which were nice keepers. All were caught on various TRDs rigged Ned. The only bad thing was the 20+ mph wind which chilled me to the bone. Right now I am sitting in front of my wood stove enjoying a beer. Cheers.

That's about what my replacement costs. Still got it 40 years later. My wife surprised me on our 25th with a new ring and wanted to have a new ceremony to renew vows. Couldn't freekin' believe she really wanted to marry me again! Twenty Five yrs with a soakin' wet swamp boy that smells like fish seemed like suffering enough, but we did and now I have TWO 50 dollar rings!

Didnt realized you've had my wife's cooking before.

Add me to the wedding ring list. Lost it this summer fishing a tournament. Luckily she only paid $50 on Amazon for it(my wife spoils me)

Wasn’t specifically targeting them much yesterday, but ran into one anyway. Hopefully back out after them later today - highs in the mid 60s 😎

Got to fish below Pickwick dam the other day. The temp was in the 20s the previous night. It had probably warmed into the upper 30s by the time we started fishing. The sun was supposed to come out, but it never happened. It was tolerable, but didn't warm up liked we hoped. The fishing started out as cool as the temps. We had good current. We were drifting 3 mph without the trolling motor. We did a 2 1/2 mile drift and caught nothing. We tried the other side, and only caught one. We went back to the other side again, but all we caught were drum. Hopefully @roadwarrior won't be too disappointed that we don't have pics of those. 🤣 Since we were having no luck on the bank, we decided to try fishing along the channel. Turns out that the fish were in the middle of the river. We only caught 3 in the first 5 hours along the banks, but got 6 in the last 2 hours in the middle of the river. Nothing too big, but one solid 3 lb 6 oz smallmouth. The most interesting part of the day came as I caught the first fish along the channel. We noticed a boat speeding toward us. While I was reeling I said, "He sees us, right?" He sped right up to us, and turns away at the last second. When he turned we see "Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency" on the side of the boat. I pulled the fish out of the net as he pulled up beside us. I said, "I'll get my license out in just a second." He said, "I don't want to see your license. I want to see the fish." I was confused since it was just a dink smallmouth. I held it up for him, and he said, "No, I want the fish." So I gave it to him. He measured it, and asked me if I wanted it back. I said, "no" so he released it. I thought we were about to get checked by the game warden. Turns out that he was with the TWRA Angler Survey. He asked us several questions about our fishing experience. He wanted to know where we were from, how much our trip cost us (counting gas, meals, etc.), how satisfied we were with our experience, if we'd fished there before, and if we planned to fish there again. It was actually a fun, and interesting experience. We had a nice chat. He seemed like a good guy. He went on his way, and we started catching fish. Too bad he didn't see us when we caught a bigger fish. 🤣

Went fishing this weekend both days. Went to the lakehouse to grab my wife’s kayak, paddled it across glass slick waters to load it up on the daily driver Honda and go to a different ramp on the same lake where people are catching nice big smallies. Somehow this access point was in a sunny hurricane with the wind blowing the same direction as the current. Two older guys with a huge boat were sitting in the parking lot saying it was too windy, and here I am with a kayak. Well two of my buddies pulled up with a bass tracker so I left the kayak in the parking lot and hopped in with them. Right as we are about to launch, a guy pulls up and asks if we have a scale. He had a 22” 6 lb 10 oz meanmouth and two other really nice smallmouth. Said he had launched at 3 am trying to catch walleye haha. Anyway here’s a pic of that monster so now we are fishing, but can’t do a thing on the main channel with the wind and current going through same direction. We retreated to a creek arm I knew held small largemouth and caught a bunch of those, better than braving the sunny hurricane so Sunday rolls around and I can’t stop thinking about the potential for PB so I go back to the same spot in the pouring rain, this time the wind isn’t blowing tho. I paddled upstream and broke off a fish , re rigged and found out why I broke off, I was amongst the toothy critters. Got one for the ice box !

It was definitely a jiggin weekend. Caught 6 small ones today. 5 on a jig and 1 on a senko. Photo’d four of them. I tried a lot of baits. Even walked a frog. A jig was the deal, at least for dinky bass 😄.

Caught a nice one fishing the Kissimmee chain.